NCO Group Acquires Call Center in Panama
Dec 19, 2006 7:59 AM
NCO Group Inc., based in Horsham, PA has acquired the assets of Star Contact Ltd. and Call Center-Telemarketing Pro-Panama S.A., a teleservices agency located in Panama. ...

AT&T Tests Home-Grown Ad-Supported Directory Assistance
Dec 18, 2006 8:02 AM
In response to the strong growth of third-party directory services that pay for themselves with ad revenue rather than user fees, AT&T Inc. is conducting a trial of its own in-house directory assistance service, complete with audio ads. ...

American Seeds Acquires Telemarketer of Seeds
Dec 5, 2006 8:22 AM
American Seeds Inc. has purchased for $50 million Fielder's Choice Direct, a unit of Landec Corp. based in Monticello, IN. ...

AOL Closes Another Call Center
Dec 4, 2006 6:45 AM, All
AOL announced it will close a call center in Oklahoma City at the end of January, as part of its transitions from a business based on user subscriptions to one relying on advertising revenue. ...

Optima Direct Hires VP of Sales, Finance Director
Nov 30, 2006 8:16 AM
Optima Direct, the contact center and telemarketing unit of Omnicom's Star Marketing Group, has hired Jeff Symon as VP of sales and marketing and Jennifer Cumiskey as finance director, effective immediately. ...

Cox to Debut Text-Message Function to Classified Ads
Nov 29, 2006 8:28 AM
Cox Newspapers Inc. has signed an agreement with CellSigns Inc. that enables users are able to request information on classified ads by texting on their mobile device. ...

FTC Settles Complaint With Canadian Telemarketers
Nov 10, 2006 6:17 AM
The Federal Trade Commission has settled a telemarketing complaint with two Canadian brothers and their companies involving international lottery promotions. ...

Maine Call Center to Create 300 jobs
Nov 8, 2006 8:21 AM
A Canadian telemarketing company will take over the former MBNA call center and create 300 jobs, according to wire service reports. ...

Survey Finds Consumers Willing to Receive Ads on Cell Phones
Oct 24, 2006 8:35 AM
A new Harris Interactive survey found that consumers would support advertising targeting cell phones in exchange for free phone features. ...

Leading Questions
Oct 15, 2006 12:00 PM, BY JEFF SCHMITT
HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED A bad sales call? Perhaps the salesperson barreled through the script without bothering to engage in dialogue. Maybe he stammered ...